The Embassy of Japan in Greece and the Macedonian Museum of Contemporary Art present the exhibition "Passage to the Future: Art from a New Generation in Japan" at the Macedonian Museum of Contemporary Art.

The exhibition focuses on art produced in Japan at the beginning of the 21st century. It showcases 42 works – paintings, sculptures, installations, photographs, and videos – of eleven young Japanese artists who are presently attracting a great deal of attention, namely Atsushi Fukui, Satoshi Hirose, Maywa Denki, Tomoyasu Murata, Tetsuya Nakamura, Masafumi Sanai, Katsuhiro Saiki, Yoshihiro Suda, Tabaimo, Nobuyuki Takahashi, and Miyuki Yokomizo.

The 1990s saw major shifts in the economic and political order of the world, and many people have responded by turning away from larger issues and concentrating on smaller and more intimate areas of life, in essence, reexamining the ground under their own feet. In contemporary art as well, there has been a worldwide tendency for artists to take a greater interest in everyday life and focus on the expression of very personal perceptions and feelings.

The eleven artists featured in this exhibition are responding in a similar way to the current state of the world. They take their subject matter from their immediate surroundings and make art that strongly reflects their own personal reality. Their work has a rich visual impact and reveals a strong interest in the process of making things.

This exhibition will allow viewers to experience the freshness and vitality of current Japanese art and at the same time provides an opportunity for renewed thinking and debate about the fundamental appeal and meaning of art.